Chapter 50 Poverty Alleviation Projects
On New Year's Eve, I received New Year's greetings via text messages and WeChat, but apart from Huang Yanyan's, almost all the others were mass messages. I never reciprocate these, so after a brief chat with Yanyan, I put my phone aside and watched the Spring Festival Gala with my parents. As for Chu Zhen's message, it still hadn't arrived.
The Spring Festival in the city is dull. After visiting each other in the same building, my parents and I stay at home. As is customary, my uncles and aunts will come to my house to pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and then we will all have a reunion dinner together. Last year, my parents went on a trip, but this year the tradition has been followed again.
"Lin Dang, is Chu Zhen coming over for the New Year holiday?" My aunt asked me as soon as she entered the door.
"He also has relatives to visit for the New Year, and I have to go back to City B on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, so I have to go back to work on the sixth day." I made up a good excuse to get away with it.
"Well, with the progress you two are making, you'll definitely have to come over next year. That'll make the New Year even more lively~" My aunt said before going into the kitchen to help, but my mind was no longer on this reunion dinner.
After visiting relatives and friends for a few days after the New Year, I bought a ticket back to City B. I had only been at my place for a few minutes when Huang Yanyan arrived.
Happy New Year! Wishing my dearest Dang all the best in the new year, with great success in love, studies, and career!
"Then I wish my dear Yan would find a perfect husband in the new year, someone who is both highly talented and handsome!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Huang Yanyan began to complain about her situation these past few days. The elders who had originally been on her side had started to ally with her parents, urging her to go on blind dates. So when they learned that I had come to City B, they immediately rushed back.
"Looks like I can't go back to this place, Lin Dang. From now on, wherever you go, I'll go. We'll never be apart!"
"Okay, I'll be like a kangaroo mom, putting you in my pouch, okay?"
"I knew my Lin Dang was the best to me!"
There are people on duty at the TV station every day. Our program team exceeded our quota before the Lunar New Year, so our normal working hours are two days later than other departments. However, Yan Yan went to work on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and I was bored by myself, so I went to the TV station too.
"Xiao Ai? What brings you here?" I ran into Xiao Ai as soon as I arrived at the TV station entrance.
"Going to work? I really don't know what Teacher Chu was thinking. She clearly said we'd be back on the eighth day of the lunar new year, but then she gave us a notice that we should come back on the sixth. I haven't been able to finish anything I planned," Xiao Ai said unhappily.
"What notice? How come I didn't know about it?"
"Didn't you receive the text message?"
"Hmm, I didn't receive it."
"That's true. You're an intern and also Teacher Chu's girlfriend, so he's bound to feel sorry for you and want you to rest more. Unlike us!" It seems that Chu Zhen's last-minute notice really disrupted Xiao Ai's plans, and the usually gentle Xiao Ai actually had so many complaints.
When I arrived at the office, everyone was already there. I went straight into the inner room, where Chu Zhen was already sitting at his desk, looking down at his phone. He didn't look up at me; I couldn't tell if he was engrossed in his phone or simply didn't want to talk to me.
"Xiao Ai, pass on the message: meet in the conference room in ten minutes," Chu Zhen said without looking up.
"Oh~" I responded. It seemed he mistook me for Xiao Ai. Sure enough, after hearing my onomatopoeia, he looked up, seemingly surprised, but quickly calmed down.
Chu Zhen's meetings were always brief, without any formalities or empty talk, getting straight to the point. This time, the main topic was the work plan and goals for the new year.
After the meeting, Chu Zhen left, and our only interaction was that one glance we exchanged that morning. The first day back at work was indeed uneventful. I sat at my desk, staring at Chu Zhen's seat, reflecting on everything that had happened these past few days. Was this how it was going to end, just like how our relationship had started so suddenly, and how it was going to end without a word?
It seems that the human body can indeed become vulnerable due to one's mood. That night, my throat felt a little uncomfortable, and the next day I felt dizzy, lightheaded, and weak all over.
"Ask Chu Zhen for leave. How are you going to work like this?"
"What's the big deal? When you're sick at school, you still have to go to class!"
Yan Yan couldn't win the argument, but she insisted on taking me to work.
Chu Zhen hadn't arrived at the office yet. I don't know why, but if it were according to my usual personality, I would definitely leave. First of all, I'm an intern, and secondly, the young lady wouldn't want to face my cold face. But now I'm reluctant to leave, and I'm even worried that I'll be told to leave. I know that the only thing Chu Zhen and I have left is this office.
"Lin Dang, hasn't Teacher Chu arrived yet?" Xiao Ai came in with some documents. Everyone was used to asking me about Chu Zhen.
"No, is there anything I can help you with?"
"The TV station has a poverty alleviation project, and various departments need to send people there. However, when they sent the forms just now, they said that we don't have many people here, so we don't have to participate."
Can I take a look?
"Okay~ then tell Teacher Chu after you've finished reading!" Xiao Ai handed me the things and then left.
This is a project about "Caring for Left-Behind Children," not in this city, but in a mountain village hundreds of kilometers away. It includes some local photos, and the children's simple and innocent smiles instantly touched my heart. At that moment, I made a decision: I wanted to participate in this project.
I didn't give the things to Chu Zhen. I filled out the form and gave it to Song Zhixiao, asking her to deliver it to the station. As for Chu Zhen, I'm just an intern. I can just say goodbye before leaving. But given our current relationship, maybe I don't even need to say goodbye!
The project was to be carried out in several batches. I asked Song Ji-hyo to make sure I was in the first batch. The school was mainly focused on research topics this year, and this was a very good topic. I didn't communicate with Professor Hwang, but spoke directly to the department. Sure enough, it was approved very quickly.
I departed on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. From the sixth to the fifteenth, I rarely saw Chu Zhen and had no idea what he was busy with. Even until the moment I boarded the train and left, I hadn't heard from him at all. It seems that my absence from work didn't affect him much! The reluctance I felt at parting vanished instantly.
The journey was smooth, but changing vehicles and heading into the mountains later became a bit inconvenient. By the time we reached our destination, it was almost dark. There were ten people in total on this trip. Apart from myself and a woman in her early thirties, the rest were all male colleagues, and almost all of them were unmarried. I was the youngest among them. They didn't expect that a girl like me, who grew up in the city, would be willing to endure hardship in the mountains, especially since "Before Dawn" was the only department that had a special exemption from participation, yet I still took the lead.
We lived in a dormitory on the school grounds, which was more like a few houses on a hillside than a school. The dormitory was a very simple room with two wooden plank beds covered with straw, a simple table, and a kerosene lamp on it.
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